It’s been a long time since I’ve talked on this site about Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, but if you follow me on social media (twitter, facebook, pinterest) it’s become clear in the past couple of weeks that I’ve gotten to work.

With just a couple of days left to go in the year, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home brought me to my unspoken goal of reading 50 books this year. My ability to focus on books has been virtually nil since 2010, and I remember, earlier this year, how keenly I felt the loss. I was once a person who defined herself by her bookshelf, both of books read and books yet to consume, and that part of my life had stopped cold.

When I saved off the last entry (“the things you save from the fire”) I said a rather prophetic phrase: “It was time for evasive maneuvers.” To recap: I had a bag full of water- and soot-logged fabric that I’d rescued from a co-worker’s basement after a house fire. Now what? Math! That’s what!